


The Grimm Hollow

by Blackflame000



Category: Bleach, RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22432474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackflame000/pseuds/Blackflame000
Summary: Ichigo lived a good long life with his wife Rukia but a soul as powerful and unique as Ichigo's tends to bend the rules of reality.Ichigo wakes up 17 years old again with no memories aside from his own name and the name of his sword.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Kurosaki Ichigo, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 22
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be no other Bleach characters crossing over and I do not plan on Ichigo getting his memories back. I am nowhere near talented to write somebody 1000 years old as a 17 year old again without just using bullshit to create logic out of the illogical and pretend it makes sense. Besides, it is Bleach canon that death results in a permanent loss of memories which is rather convenient for me.
> 
> This also gives me the opportunity to tone down Ichigo's power (something I really wish I had done with Naruto in Demon Trigger since now I have to write around having a character that is currently a demigod)
> 
> Before Isshin gave Ichigo the Mugetsu cheat code, Ichigo was at best 5th Espada level, getting flung around by Ulquiorra in his primary release and absolutely outmatched by his 2nd release. That places him at Captain level at the height of his natural power ie Byakuya level but not high captain ie Ukitake, Kyoraku, or a truly motivated Kenpachi let alone god level like Yamamoto or Aizen.
> 
> He will have lingering feelings about people who have similar traits to people from the Bleach cast.

I will be retconning most of what happens after Ichigo beats Aizen because Bleach should have ended there.

Ichigo had lived a good long life. Following the defeat of Aizen and the loss of his powers, Rukia had been assigned back to Karakura Town as it's protector, although realistically it was a very open secret that she had been placed back there to keep Ichigo out of trouble until his powers returned. 

Upon graduating High School, he had been offered a full time role in the 13 Court Guard Squads as the Lieutenant to Shinji Hirako in squad 5 to "learn the ropes." 

He eventually made Captain, taking control of squad 10 from new head captain like his father before him, which, to his disdain, also made him the head of the Kurosaki clan, the renamed branch of the Shiba clan his father had previously been head of. The paperwork for both was gruesome leading to Isshin being appointed Vice-head of the Kurosaki clan which created almost as many problems as it solved.

He was assisted by Nanao for a while who Kyoraku loaned to him with the return of Lisa to squad 8 before Nanao followed Kyoraku to squad 1 and was replaced, to his infinite chagrin by Karin Kurosaki.

His captaincy test had been a bit...unorthodox. Administered by the retiring Kyoraku as well as Byakuya and Shinji, what was to be a display of skill against Byakuya became a 3 way battle when Kenpachi, having been informed despite strict orders to keep him in the dark, crashed the party and was allowed to fight as well to the amusement of Kyoraku and Shinji. 

After winning the fight without using his hollow powers, they were only ever to be used as a true last resort due to the dark nature of such power, Ichigo took the opportunity to demand Rukia's hand in marriage from the weakened man to which he replied "I am doing a great disservice to her by allowing her to marry such a minor noble. If she chooses to subject herself to this indignity then the shame of her actions are her own to bear." And flashstepped away. It had honestly been a more positive answer than he had expected and would be the first, and only, time Byakuya acknowledged Ichigo's nobility as a member of one of the 5 great clans.

It surprised absolutely nobody when Rukia gave birth to a pair of twins 9 months after their wedding, which Yoroichi and Karen had to duct tape Isshin down for to stop his loud crying.

Living well over 1000 years, Ichigo and Rukia were one day found in their bed. They had gone to bed and passed on in their sleep together.

Souls of his power however tended to bend the rules of reality, the reason every Shinigami of a certain level of power was forced to were a limiter when leaving the Soul Society.

So instead of being placed back into the cycle of rebirth, something unprecedented happened.

__________

"Hey kid, you alright?" A voice called out.

Ichigo slowly sturred and woke up, mouth dry and the hot sun bearing down on his face.

As his vision focused, he saw a hand being offered to him. Taking it he slowly stood up and observed the man infront of him. He looked to be in his early 40s with black hair. He was wearing a white and gray button up shirt with the sleaves rolled up and black slacks. He also wore a red cape, a necklace with a crooked cross, and had some kind of device on his back.

"Im Qrow." The man said offering a cantine to Ichigo.

"Ichigo." Was the gruff reply after taking a large swig of the water. 

"What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I..." at that Ichigo paused. What was he doing? He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember anything. 

"I don't know...I can't remember."

"Shit kid. Must of hit your head. Where you from?"

"..."

"Right. Well you can stick with me for now until you remember. I got a mission in the area anyways. I'll take you home after." With that, Qrow started walking. He then paused for a second.

In a flash, he was at Ichigo's throat, the device on his back having extended into a sword. 

*Clang*

Qrow smiled. "Good to see you can handle that bigass piece of metal your carrying then. This would be a lot harder if I had to babysit you as well." With that, he broke the sword lock and turned before walking away again.

Ichigo put Zangetsu back on his back and continued walking after the man.

"He's called Zangetsu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently have a 50/50 split on whether to just have Ichigo take Jaune's place, if he does take Jaune's place do I change up the teams more, or if I should just jam him into team Ruby.
> 
> Useless info I wrote down as I started creating my version of this world.
> 
> Squad 1 Yamamoto who retired after the situation calmed down following the capture of Aizen and was replaced by Kyoraku who retired, with Ukitake, after the death of Yamamoto due to old age.
> 
> Squad 2 Soi Fon
> 
> Squad 3 Otoribashi replacing Ichimaru
> 
> Squad 4 Unohana
> 
> Squad 5 Shinji replacing Aizen
> 
> Squad 6 Byakuya
> 
> Squad 7 Iba replacing Komamura who left in seach of his family following the death of Yamamoto
> 
> Squad 8 Kyoraku followed by Renji upon Kyoraku becoming head captain
> 
> Squad 9 Kensei replacing Tosen
> 
> Squad 10 Toshiro followed by Ichigo when Toshiro replaced Kyoraku as head captain
> 
> Squad 11 Kenpachi
> 
> Squad 12 Mayuri
> 
> Squad 13 Ukitake followed by Rukia when he retired.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I'm really terrible at these intro chapters.

"Ok kid I'm out here to kill a pair of Geists that have been attacking merchants."

"What's a Geist?"

Qrow sighed "Right. No menories. Uh... they are like ghosts that can possess objects like rocks and what not. The two of them have been sitting on the edge of a canyon and throwing boulders down on anyone passing through. You need to break their mask to kill them.."

Ichigo nods.

"Oh and uh...I'll try to separate them. Its probably best if we don't fight too close to each other. My semblance doesn't distinguish between friend or foe and I can't control when it activates."

"Uh...what's a semblance?"

At that Qrow walks up to Ichigo and begins feelling his head.

"Hey! What are you doing. Get off me damn it." Ichigo says as he attempts to slap away Qrows hands. 

"Hm. No sign of significant head trauma. Hold still for a second kid." The second part was said in a far more serious tone as Qrow puts his hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

Qrow glows a dark grey for a moment before Ichigo explodes into a black flame with a red tint. Qrow removes his hand almost immediatly.

"That might explain it. You have an incredible amount of Aura. Any physical would probably healed already or didn't even get past your Aura but that wouldn't stop your brain from rattling around." Qrow was now mumbling to himself speaking outloud.

"What the hell was that." Ichigo demanded.

"I was checking your Aura kid. Ok heres the basic rundown. Humans and Faunus, basically people with animal traits, both have Aura. It protects us, heals us, and helps us fight through our semblances. Everyone has a unique semblance. Mine is bad luck. Everyone within a certain range of me experiences bad luck. In a fight, I can channel my Aura to amplify the effects but I can't ever completely turn it off. And it effects everyone. You have a semblance, but if you don't remember anything your going to have to rediscover it. Unless yours is passive like mine, it will probably just happen as an instinct in a fight as a stress reaction. Now come on. We got work to do." Qrow finished, walking away, the topic of his semblance making him uncomfortable.

Ichigo followed him in silence.

Eventually the two found the enterance to a valley. 

"This looks to he the place kid. Remember, we have to split up."

"Yeah yeah I got it gramps."

"..."

"..."

"I'm not that old damn it don't call me gramps."

"Then stop calling me kid." With that Ichigo began walking between the cliffs.

Qrow just sighed, taking a big swig from his flask, and walked after him

The two walked for about 20 minutes before they reached what looked like.the site of a battle. Bones, broken wood, and a few scattred weapons were spread out. Before the two could investigate further, rumbling was heard.

From the tops of the cliffs, two large boulders rolled down. They both dodged before hiding behind the boulders.

Eventually, two more boulders rolled down, both slower. Upon reaching the bottom of the cliff, other rocks seemed to attach to the two boulders creating two large golems. As the two golems began searching for their prey, Ichigo walked out. "Hey ugly. Over here." As the two turned towards them, Qrow jumped out taking shots at the one closer to him, drawing it to him. 

Now that they each had one Geists's attention, they both ran in separare directions splitting them up.

"That should be far enough" Ichigo said to himself, having run a few meters.

He turned to face the Geist, addressing it. "Well come on then."

The Geist accepted the challange, picking up a large rock nearby and throwing it at Ichigo.

Ichigo dodged then charged the creature.

Attempting to end it immediatly, he swung straight for the mask...only for Zangetsu to be deflected by a giant stone arm before Ichigo is batted away, hitting the cliffside hard.

Stubborn, Ichigo charged again. This time the monster swung at him.

Ichigo dodged under the blow and goes to make a rising slash but is kicked by the monster.

His Aura also dampened this blow but the force from the sudden stop upon hitting the wall left him dizzy his hands shaking a little.

Getting up slower, Ichigo suddenly heard a voice.

"What's necessary in a fight isn't fear. Nothing can be born of that. When you dodge, I won't let them cut me. If you protect someone, I won't let them die. If you attack, I will kill them."

Dizziness gone and hands steadied, his Aura suddenly flares. Grasping Zangetsu in both hands, he dashes again at the Grimm, faster this time. His Auroa responding to his determination and augmenting his body. 

Reaching the golum in a moment, Ichigo slides under the monsters initial attack going between its legs.

Slashing, Ichigo severs the golums left leg causing it to fall. 

The golum slams the ground with its fist sending a blast of shrapnel at Ichigo forcing him to back off again.

Reconnecting its leg, the golum begins repeatedly uppercutting the ground sending a hail of rocks in Ichigo's direction.

Stabbing Zangetsu into the ground, he takes cover behind the blade.

'Damn it. Hiding isn't going to solve anything.'

Ichigo begins to peak out from behind the blade. 

Slowly, his eyes begin to adjust to the projectiles until he can track most of them.

Gathering his nerve, Ichigo pulls Zangetsu out of the ground and begins dodging the projectiles.

Some land glancing blows. 

'Faster.'

His eyes adjust more and his body begins moving faster as fewer stones hit him.

'Faster. Don't let them touch me'

Ichigo has now, subconsciously begun using a slow shunpo to dodge all the stones.

'I will kill it. Faster!' 

Ichigo blurs from sight before appearing behind the Geist, blade and arms extended downward

The Geist stops moving before it suddenly splits in half vertically and falls apart.

Panting, Ichigo slumps against the wall of the cliff.

From the top of the cliff, Qrow calls out "Not bad kid. I thought I was going to have to jump in and help but it seems you just needed to shake some of the rust off." Before sliding down.

Ichigo says nothing, just giving him the finger before getting up and walking into the valley. Qrow following behind, hands in his pockets, with a lopsided grin on his face.

As they walk further in, the two walk past what looks like a small landslide.

"Did you do this?" Ichigo asks pointing in incredulity.

"Uh, sort of? I told you my semblance is dangerous to everything around me." Qrow said scratching the back of his head.

"Two things, first, why were we walking THROUGH the valley if you can do that on accident, and if you already did it once, why were you standing on the cliffside as I fought? What exactly did you plan to do if it happened again except the rocks fell on me?"

"You worry too much kid."

"Fuck you."

With that, Ichigo uses a shunpo to go up to the top of the cliff, getting out of the valley.

Qrow jumps up the side of the cliff after him.

The pair walk for a while in silence.

"So where exactly are we going?" Ichigo asks.

"I'm taking you to a friend of mine. If anyone is able to get your memories back or figure out who you are, it would be him."

The two walk in silence for a while longer.

"You know, not a lot of kids your age could handle a Geist that old. You did good Ichigo."

"No. I feel like I used to be much better at this. Hurry up. I want to make some more progress before it gets dark."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Ichigo is going to slowly reactivate his powers as time goes on. His body knows what to do but his brain doesn't and, for now, he is going to be thinking too much since his combat experience has been reset to 0. 
> 
> In a rare example of preplanning, Iv already figured out when he relearns getsuga tenshou, bankai, when the hollow shows up, and when he starts learning to control his hollow powers figured out.
> 
> Still don't know what to do with Jaune. I want to replace him with Ichigo at Beacon, but I also want Pyrrha to get her man and I have no clue how to do that if he isn't at Beacon before going to Atlus which is soooo far away


	3. Chapter 3

Vale had been a bit of a culture shock for Ichigo. Going from the empty deserts of Vacuo to this sprawling metropolis. That on top of his first encounter with airships had led to quite a bit of fun for Qrow and Ichigo's expense. 

The meeting with Ozpin had gone well, although fruitlessly.

There was no record of Ichigo, or anyone matching his discription, in the citizenship databases of the four kingdoms nor had a missing persons mission been issued for him. Apparently it wasn't a particularly uncommon thing, especially in Mistral or Vacuo with many living outside the kingdoms in the wilds. Qrow himself admitted he hadn't been in the database before he turned 17 and came to Beacon.

Still, it left Ichigo with no leads about who he was or where he came from. Under Qrow's recommendation, Ichigo was to be admitted to Beacon. Going out on missions would allow him to travel and hopefully get recognized, and in the meantime, would earn him wages for a job he was both skilled at and suited to. The fact that all tuition was paid for by the kingdom upon admittance to Beacon also helped.

So there he stood, in the back of a large auditorium filled with teens, waiting for this shit to be overwith, already annoyed by the ceremony.

Ozpin walks on the stage to the podium followed by a tall blond woman who had introduced herself when he first arrived at Beacon as Glynda Goodwitch. The entire auditorium falls silent in anticipation. "I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He turns and leaves as Glynda replaces him.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Goodwitch then left as well.

The message had been short and to the point and had put Ichigo in a better mood. Despite the highschool attitude around Beacon, Ozpin had immediately injected a tone of seriousness into the room and addressed the most important topic. 

Later that night, all the new students gathered in the ballroom to get a good nights sleep before initiation. Ichigo had chosen a bed near the back corner hoping to stay out of the inevitable chaos that this many teenagers in one room for the night was bound to cause. To his relief, the girl one bed over seemed to have chosen her spot for the same reason. Long black hair, light brown eyes, and a bow on top her head. She spared Ichigo a glance as he walked by which he returned with a nod before she refocused on her book.

Things were relatively calm in their corner until a tall blond walked over dragging another girl with dark hair and red highlights with her towards the girl with the bow.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

The girl briefly looks up at the blond pulling the struggling red over to her.

"Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?" The blond says starting the conversation. 

The girl with the bow looks up briefly appraising red. "Aren't you... that girl that exploded?" 

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." Realizing what she had been about to say and definitely not wanting that nickname to stick, Ruby pauses briefly smiling, embarrassed, before continuing on. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby."

"Okay." The girl says refocusing on her book.

"What are you doing?" The blond whispers to Ruby.

"I don't know! Help me." Ruby whispers back to her sister.

"So... What's your name?" The blond says restarting the conversation.

The girl sighs as she's distracted yet again from her book. "Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!"

"Thanks." Blake deadpans back.

"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang tries again. 

"Right..."

"Nice night, don't you think?" Undeterred.

"Yes, it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book." She pauses waiting for Ruby and Yang to leave. "That I will continue to read." Still waiting for them to take the hint. "As soon as you leave."

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang whispers to Ruby.

"What's it about?" Ruby asks Blake, surprising her.

"Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

Yang rolls her eyes finding Blake weirder and weirder the more she speams. "Oh, yeah... That's real lovely."

"I love books." Ruby says undistracted by Yang. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"

Blake laughs a little at the notion. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

Suddenly serious, "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't themselves!"

"That's... very ambitious for a child." Smiling at Ruby before the smile turns into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"But it's people like her, who look at the world and see what they want it to be who make things better for those who look at the world and see it how it is." 

The three of them all looked at Ichigo, laying on his back with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head, who had suddenly interjected into the conversation.

"Right! that's why we're here! To make it better. If a dream is worth obtaining, we have to try no matter how impossible it might be." Ruby said buoyed by Ichigo's interjection.

Before the ideological debate could progress however, Yang wrapped Ruby up in a tight hug. Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang says pulling Ruby into a hug.

Squirming out of the the hug, Ruby tells Yang, in vain, to cut it out as a brawl between them begins to break out.

Laughing at their antics, Blake smiles at them "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

Weiss suddenly storms over as Ruby manages to pull Yang into a full Nelson. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" She demands.

Realizing who they are dealing with Yang and Weiss point at each other shouting "Oh, not you again!"

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby interjects.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss says, failing to find humor in the irony.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby contests.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang demands, tired of seeing this girl pick on her sister.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss exclaims.

By this point Ichigo had given up on sleep for a while. He turns to Blake. "You wouldn't happen to have another book on you?" 

Blake raised an eyebrow at him. Honestly she had been suspicious of him when he first walked over. Dyed orange hair and a scowl on his face, but between his interjection into the conversation earlier and now his apparent literary interests, it seems she had done him a disservice. 

Honestly she felt ashamed of herself for judging him for his appearances, all things considered.

She reached into her bag and pulled out the A MAN WITH TWO SOULS: PART 1 and tossed it to him. (so it was brought to my attention that my use of italics, bold, and underlining doesn't show up on AO3 except for myself. A man with two souls should be in italics. I would appreciate if someone could tell me if it is or not so i can figure this shit out.)

Catching the book, noticing the signs of a repeatedly read book, began.

"I'm Ichigo by the way. Thanks."

"Blake. And no problem. I hope you enjoy it."

By now the argument had moved on elsewhere and the two were allowed to read in peace, gradually embracing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I got the teams sorted out. Ended up being harder than I thought it would because iv never seen Ichigo as a leader character. He is always used as an ace up the sleeve of some greater manipulator and accept that as his role as long as the person commanding him aligns with his general goal. That meant someone had to be made a leader to replace Jaune out of the rest of the cast.


	4. Chapter 4

Ichigo woke up early the next morning, put the book down next to the sleeping Blake and made his way to the locker room to gear up.

He wasn't the first person there however. Three people were already in there sortjng through their gear.

There was a girl with red hair, keeping to her self, inspecting her sword and shield meticulously before she set them down with a nod and began examining her armor. In direct contrast to her however was a girl with orange hair who had clearly had too much coffee already rapidly warming the room with how much she was talking about sloths or something. Ichigo couldn't be bothered to pay attention. The guy she was talking seemed to take it all in stride so he was probably used to it.

Now dressed in his battle attire, a black zip up hoodie with a white, deep v-neck, beater underneath and a pair of dark jeans, he held his hand out and Zangetsu materialized before he out it on his back and went to where the students were told to gather, the edge of a cliff overlooking the forest which surrounded Beacon.

Walking to the edge of the cliff and stabbing Zangetsu in the ground, Ichigo sat with his feet danging off the edge.

The other students began trickle in, small groups already forming but Ichigo kept to himself. Lost in thought, he didn't notice somebody approach.

"Hey."

Ichigo turned to see Blake standing next to him.

"Hey."

Blake sat down next to Ichigo and the two introverts where quiet for a while.

Then, at the same time, both of them began to speak.

"I really liked what I read of your book." "What did you think of _A Man With Two Souls_ so far?"

They both smiled.

Before the conversation could go anywhere, Ozpin and Glynda arrived.

"Everyone, take your place on a platform." Glynda ordered.

Ozpin observed the students for a while before beginning to address them.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin started.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today." Glynda finished. Accustomed to Ozpin's tendencies for dramatic pauses.

"What?" Ruby groaned at the mere thought of being forced to interact with others more.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued.

Ichigo's eyes darted briefly over towards Blake.

"Ugh." Ruby groaned.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." He finished. A smirk carefully hidden by his mug of coffee. Watching the new students was one of the few things to never get old.

At that moment, mouth agape, Ruby's world shattered. "Noooooooooooooooooooo"

The orange haired girl turned towards her friend. "See? I told you. Remember. Plan sloth."

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." Ozpin continued on, having paused to observe the reactions he so relished.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will be graded based on the ease with which you complete your mission. Any questions?"

One by one students began being launched into the forest.

"So...your shooting us into a forest with no intel and a bunch of random strangers?" Ichigo asks, his tone dry.

"That is correct, Mr. Kurosaki." Ozpin replies.

Only the orange haired girl, her friend, Blake, and Ichigo were now left on the cliff.

"Your more sick than Qrow." Ichigo replies scowling heavily.

Ozpin just chuckles.

The last two left, Blake turns to Ichigo and wishes him good luck before she is launched as well.

Now alone Ichigo flips off Ozpin, to the shock and impending headache of Glynda, before he is launched in the air as well.

"Just what did Qrow drop on us. Nobody has managed to earn a detention so quickly before." Glynda said, face in palm.

"Oh don't worry about it. He specifically waited so that none of the other students could see it. Besides, he's right. We are throwing them in blind with a bunch of strangers and a vague objective at best. The other kids still think they are invincible while he understands how bad that situation would be in real life." Ozpin said, pausing to take a drink from his mug.

"That's true..."

"Do make sure the monitors keep an eye on him. I am most interested to see him in action." With that Ozpin walked off leaving Glynda looking out over forest before she sighed, shook her head, and followed Ozpin back to Beacon.

As Ichigo flew through the air, he unwrapped Zangetsu before using the bandages to hook a tree branch as he fell. While the branch did dampen his momentum, the bandage snapped causing Ichgo to still have a relatively rough landing.

Picking himself up and dusting himself off, he began walking woods looking for signs of whatever this objective they were supposed to find. As he walks along, he hears some rustling in the bushes.

"Hello?" Ichigo calls out as he goes to investigate.

A low growl greets him in response before suddenly an Ursa charges out of the foliage at him. Jumping to the side, Ichigo kicks the Ursa into a tree as it ran past, creating some distance for himself.

Another Ursa comes out of the bushes surrounding Ichigo, growling.

Holding Zangetsu out infront of himself, Ichigo says "Well come on then. Let's get this over with."

On que both Ursa charge him. Running forward, Ichigo sidesteps a swipe before slicing the Ursa with a horizontal slash, killing it with one blow. Turning to meet the second Ursa, he blocks an over head claw swipe with the flat of Zangetsu.

Before he can finish it off, the beast falls forward showing it had a blade in its back.

The blade is retracted as Blake walks out of the woods, catching the blade with a smirk.

"It was just getting fun." Ichigo said, putting Zangetsu on his back.

Blake just walked past him and said "This way." Ichigo followed after her.

The trip was uneventful and the two eventuLly emerge from the forest into a clearing that reveals the circular stone temple, broken and decrepit but for the platforms around its inside, holding several black and gold objects

"Think this is it?" Ichigo asked.

Blake looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

The two walk into a ruin.

Blake picks up one of the 'relics'. "Chess pieces?" She says, examining the golden queen.

"That...really doesn't surprise me. No king and no pawn. Ozpin really isn't being subtle with this is he. Well either way, at least that wasn't too hard." Ichigo picked up the black queen to match.

"I mean, it's not like this place was difficult to find. Anyone paying attention while falling should have been able to see this place. It is literally the only structure that was visible."

Turning back to the forest, Ichigo notices what looks like smoke rising from about half a mile away.

"Hey you see that?" Ichigo asks, turning to Blake but she was distracted by something else in the sky.

Shielding his eyes and trying to follow her line of vision, he could see a bird flying around.

It looks like the bird dropped something.

Something that was now screaming...and rapidly growing larger.

"HEADS UUUUUUUUP!" The rapidly approaching Ruby screams as she plummets to the ground.

Just as she is about to hit the ground, a white blur flies out of the forest, slamming into her.

Hanging from a tree branch are, the now identified white blur, Weiss and Ruby who was sitting on top of her.

"Oohhhh... What was that?" Ruby said, shaking the dizziness from her head.

"Get off me you dolt!" Weiss shouted, embarrassed by the indignation of this idiot girl sitting on top of her.

Before Ichigo or Blake could properly comprehend what just happened, an Ursa burst out of the forest, running from the tiny orange haired girl who was carrying a giant hammer and chasing after it. Before she could catch it, a yellow blur slammed into the Ursa from above with a bang.

From the carnage emerged Yang.

"That was the coolest shit I've ever done." She said brushing herself off in awe of her own awesomeness.

The orange haired girls partner emerged from the woods, panting.

"Nora."

"Yes Ren?"

"Never again."

But Nora was already gone, having blitzed into the ruins and was now examining the chess pieces before grabbing both rooks and putting the one in Ren's hands.

Immediatly after, large crashing sounds could be heard from the woods before the girl with red hair sprints out, followed closely by a giant scorpion grimm.

"Weiss!" The girl called out.

"Pyrrha!" Weiss cried back, getting out of the tree.

Pyrrha rushed over to her making sure the girl is ok. "I'm sorry! I should have blocked that hit for you! Are you ok? It knocked you so far away!" Pyrrha said, making sure her partner was ok.

The Death Stalker, still hunting Pyrrha, charged into the ruins.

Ruby takes out her scythe and charges the monster screaming.

"Ruby wait!" Yanh calls out behind her.

Ruby, still screaming, fires Crescent Rose and charges at the oncoming Death Stalker. When the two meet, the Grimm swipes Ruby away and she is knocked back.

Ruby gets up slowly. "D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!"

Ruby turns back to the monster and shoots it in the skull, running away from it and sheathing her scythe as the Death Stalker now goes after her.

Yang, runs towards her sister to help. "Ruby!"

Ruby rushes towards Yang, but then a deafining caw is heard from above.

(https://youtu.be/TRV48bV6T-Y for those who haven't played monster hunter world, bazelgeuse is basically a living B-52 bomber who randomly shows up, usually in a way where you don't see it coming, and begins carpet bombing you. The beginning of it's theme is literally intended to sound like a bomb siren to warn you of the impending disaster.)

Everyone looks up to see a giant Nevermore swooping down at them. Flapping its wings, it releases lines of sharpened feathers with points that catch on Ruby's cape and prevent Yang from reaching her.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang yells.

Ruby is still struggling with the cloak, unable to escape. "I'm trying!"

The Death Stalker approaches, raising its golden stinger above a scared Ruby and heading down on the helpless girl.

Yang, weaving through the feathers trying to reach her sister in vain, desperately screems "Ruby!"

A black blur races past Yang.

A loud clang is heard.

Ruby opens her eyes to the sight of Ichigo standing in front of her smiling down at her. She lowers her arms from their futile position in front of her head to see that Ichigo had blocked the stinger with the flat of his blade, held behind his back.

Offering a hand to help her up, Ichigo says. "You know, you don't need to try to do everything on your own. There are eight of us. Let us help you."

Ruby breathes a sigh of relief, then closes her eyes and clasps her hands as she gratefully whispers. "Normal knees..." Taking Ichigo's hand, she gets up and stares at the Death Stalker as it struggles to push Ichigo. With a grunt, he turns his blade, allowing the stinger to slide off it and harmlessly away from him. The death stalker, off balance, slides back down the stairs at the entrance of the ruin.

Yang rushes up to Ruby and gives her a hug, which Ruby grunts at upon receiving.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" The two hug it out for a moment, then look up at the Nevermore still flying overhead and roaring.

Blake, still tracking the Nevermore, gets the groups attention. "Guys? That thing's circling back."

Weiss steps up before grabbing a chess piece. "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Everyone turns and looks at the 'relics'.

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs" Ruby says with a nod to Weiss. "There's no point in fighting these things."

Ruby goes over and grabs a black knight, tossing the gold one to her sister while Pyrrha takes the last piece, a golden bishop.

The Death Stalker can be heard charging back up the stairs again.

"Time we left!" Ren calls out.

"Right." Ruby says as she waves to the others to follow her. "Let's go!" She goes forward with everyone following except for a smiling Yang, Ichigo, and Blake.

Walking up next to Yang, watching as Ruby takes the lead of the group. "Little siblings grow up fast huh.

Yang, staring proudly at Ruby as she leaps on a boulder and motions the group onward. "Yeah..."

As they all begin running, the Nevermore makes another bombing run on the group forcing them to stop their retreat and head for cover.

"Well, that's great." Says Yang, clearly annoyed.

While in cover, the Death Stalker begins closing the gap between them.

Pointing to the Nevermore, Ren calls out "Nora distract it."

Nora obliges, running out from her block and jumping through the feather projectiles before reaching behind her and launching several heart-topped shells from her grenade launcher, bursting into pink electricity when they hit the Nevermore and causing it to retreat. She is unaware of the Death Stalker rushing up behind her until Blake and Ichigo perform a cross-slash against its shell. Weiss lands next to Nora so she can create a jumping platform beneath them and leap to safety while Blake and Ichigo are now being chased.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha calls out as she stops running beside Ren as the two aim their guns at the Death Stalker, firing blasts of red and green for a second until it reaches them and tries to swipe, prompting the group to run again.

The eight race over the ancient stone bridge, not noticing the Nevermore closing in on them until it uses its giant wings to shatter the path right in the middle, forcing Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Nora closer to the central collection of columns and leaving Blake, Ren, Ichigo, and Pyrrha on the other side with the Death Stalker. Ruby fires at the retreating Nevermore while Blake is beaten back by the scorpion.

"Give me a boost" Calls out Yang to Nora as she runs towards the edge of the bridge.

Nora slams her hammer into the bridge, launching Yang across. Ruby follows after her sister with her semblance.

The Death Stalker forces Pyrrha and Ren to the edge of the bridge as Blake and Ichigo try to draw its attention away from them.

Seeing their situation, Weiss creates glyphs to allow the pair to run across the gap to the other side of the bridge leaving the Death Stalker to Ichigo, Ruby, Blake, and Yang.

On the other side of the bridge, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora are all firing at the Nevermore as Weiss maintains a glyph to enhance their shots.

The beast swoops down at them and Nora jumps up, riding the monsters beak, before shoving her grenade launcher in its mouth and firing over and over shouting "Eat it!" Every time she fires. Running out of ammo, she pulls her weapon out of the creatures beak before slamming her hammer into the side of its head, causing it to crash into the cliff side as she jumps back down to the ruin.

Despite Nora's attempts, the Nevermore recovers quickly. The Nevermore attempts to take flight again but Weiss hops over to the ruin it's lifting off of and freezes the tip of its feathery tail to the ground, leaving it stuck in the same spot despite its flapping. Weiss back-flips into a snowflake-circle jump and lands on the other side, running to the group.

"I have a plan!" She calls out.

Pyrrha walks all the way to the edge of the broke bridge where Ren is waiting while Nora readies her hammer.

"This...is a bad idea." Ren says, as he grasps Pyrrha's arm.

"Well if you have a better one, I would love to hear it!" Weiss snaps.

Upon hearing nothing she gets into position.

"Now!" She calls out.

Ren swings Pyrrha around, helping her gain momentum before she shoots off towards Nora.

As she takes one step part the the girl, she jumps.

Just as Pyrrha jumps, Nora slams her hammer into the ground giving Pyrrha more momentum.

Pyrrha holds her shield over her head as the Nevermore flies towards her.

As she flies through the air, Weiss creates a series of glyphs using them to further boost Pyrrha's momentum.

Beak meets shield with a resounding bang before the beak breaks and Pyrrha tears through the rest of the Nevermore.

As she falls back to the ground, Weiss creates another series of glyphs, slowing the girl down to the point she lands in a crouch unharmed.

Nora turns to Weiss at this point. "You know, you wouldn't think you had this much crazy in you at first glance."

Weiss, who is panting from the exertion of making so many glyphs in such a short time, barely manages to glare at Nora before saying "Oh shut up." And slumps to her knees to catch her breath.

"Ichigo! Yang! Keep it's attention! Blake and I will look for gaps in it's armor!"

The pair run up to its face with Ichigo fending off the creatures strikes as Yang pummels its face. Blake and Ruby attempt to strike at its legs hoping to slow the Grimm down.

The Death Stalker aims a claw at Yang, but Ichigo deflects it with the flat of his blade before he slashes it. The scorpion recoils and swipes at him with its other claw, but Ichigo blocks again, this time pushing against the claw, knocking it back so Yang can leap over and attack its face. Blake runs up firing and gets on the stinger when it tries to hit him, shooting at the base between it and the tail while Nora fires with her sniper rifle at the attacking claws. Yang slams her fist straight into one of the monster's ten eyes, making it throw Blake to the side.

She hits a pillar hard and slumps there.

Distracted, Yang takes a claw strike and is sent flying as well.

The Death Stalker turns, attempting to stab Blake with its stinger but Ichigo manages to get between the two and blocks with Zangetsu as the monster strikes at him over and over.

Ruby is firing as fast as she can with her sniper but the rounds are having little effect.

Suddenly, time stops for Ichigo, and old man appears before him.

"Zangetsu..."

"So you do remember me. What are you doing? Why do you hide behind me? You still haven't called forth my power. Face forward. You should be able to use it now. All that blocked your ears was worthless fear. What is there to fear? Cast off your fear! Look forward! Go forward! Never stand still, run and you will age, hestitate and you will die. Turn your blade towards your enemy and and unleash..."

Time resumes for Ichigo and his Aura flares massively. Parrying the next claw strike, Ichigo causes the Death Stalker to stagger. Raising Zangetsu above his head, it glows bright blue with Aura. Bringing the blade down in a vertical strike, Ichigo calls out,

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

A large crescent of Aura fires from the blade, striking the Death Stalker head on.

The strike bisects the monster, continuing a good distance past it, leaving a a gash in the ground along the path it traveled.

Ichigo turns and helps Blake up as Ruby, with Yang's arm over her shoulder to help support her, walk up to the pair.

"Wow." Pyrrha said, watching the level of power Ichigo just displayed.

Yang breaks out a cheesy smile and says "Well, that was a thing."

Ruby can only smile at the other three around them, happy to have one.

Ruby continues to smile as the faint sounds of an audience clapping are heard, growing louder and louder as a familiar voice is heard.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin calls out. The screen of the auditorium shows each of their profiles as the boys are lined up for the applauding audience to see as Ozpin continues. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gives one more wave of ovation, while four students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Weiss Schnee. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. From this day forward, you will work together as Team WNNR (Winter) led by...Weiss Schnee."

Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug.

Weiss is too proud to hide the massive smile on her face.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Ichigo Kurosaki. Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin motions over the four as they stand before him. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team RBYI (Ruby). Led by... Ruby Rose!"

Ichigo and Blake share a look and smile while Ruby, obviously in shock, is wrapped up in a hug from her sister.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang says smotheding her sister.

Ozpin, amid the last round of cheers smiles to himself behind his coffee mug. "It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

Meanwhile, in a shadowy room, somewhere else in the city of Vale, filled with shelves and a desk in the back, where Roman Torchwick is getting a call on his phone. The muffled conversation ends, and Roman angrily slams the phone down, sighing. He holds a cigar to his mouth and puts his symbolized lighter to the end, just as a man in a gray mask and black hood comes with a trolley. Roman holds out a collection of Lien, which he places on the table and the man takes.

"Open it."

The masked man does so with a crowbar, revealing a large amount of Dust crystals of varying colors: orange, blue, white, red, green, cyan, gold, yellow, and more. Roman picks up a blue gem in his hand and looks at the loot.

"We're gonna need more men..." Roman says to himself as he looks down at a map of Vale with various sites circled and crossed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to wake up in 4 hours for class. Any typos or errors can go fuck themselves. Started writting and just couldn't stop despite the ungodly hour.


	5. Chapter 5

Having slept soundly in their new room, Ruby was the first awake. Taking out a whistle, she snuck up on the sleeping Ichigo. Just as she was about to rudely awaken the room, long honed danger senses activated in Ichigo and, in his sleep, he grabbed Ruby by the hood and threw her out the window. 

The rest of the room remained undisturbed by her distant screaming as she fell to the ground.

" **AAAAAAAAA** AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaah" *thud* "I'm ok!"

5 minutes later, the room to the dorm opened showing a disheveled Ruby having made the run back up.

Mostly undeterred by her early morning flight, Ruby cheerfully woke up the rest of the room. "Good morning, team RBYI!"

Three various forms of morning were sent back at her, lacking her enthusiasm.

"Now that you're awake, we can officially begin our first order of business."

"And what's that?" Ichigo said, stretching and popping his neck.

Yang grabs a collection of objects, pillows, pamphlets, a candle-holder - in her arms, and starts handing some to Blake. "Decorating!"

Blake lifts her suitcase showing it to Ichigo "We still have to unpack as well." The suitcase opens, spilling its contents. "Aaaand clean."

"Why do you have sticks in your hair?" Ichigo asks Ruby, finally acknowledging her...foliage inspired appearance. 

"Stupid sleep fighting giant..." Ruby mumbles under her breath as she fixes her hair, throwing the sticks out of the window. "Alright! Ichigo, Blake, Yang, and me, their fearless leader, Ruby have begun their first mission!" She raises her fist into the air. "Banzai!"

Blake and Yang stand beside her and assume the same pose. "Banzai!" They turn to Ichigo who is staring back incredulously.

Ichigo facepalms. For some reason, living with three other girls feels familiar. Following whatever lost memory is influencing his actions, he allows himself to be directed on what to put where.

Yang places a poster of six guys in various poses named 'THE ACHIEVE MEN' over a picture of their album cover from 'THE ONE IN THE HOLE' on her part of the room. Blake is busy putting away her books on the shelves, picking up a copy of Ninjas of Love and widening her eyes as she warily looks around before putting it back. Ruby positions Crescent Rose at an exact angle against the curtains so she can perfectly slash a diagonal portion off. Meanwhile, having few possessions, Ichigo sets aside some space for two stands. One for Zangetsu which he materializes and places and another for a guitar he had picked up while traveling with Qrow. He couldn't remember learning but he saw it in a shop and was drawn to pick it up and start playing. A quick zoom around the room, and the repaired curtains, ends with Team RBYI admiring their handiwork... with one problem. The beds are cramped together in the center of the floor.

"This isn't going to work." Ichigo points out.

"It is a bit cramped." Blake concurs.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff..." said Yang

"Or we could ditch the beds... and replace them with bunk beds!" Ruby said, getting more excited as she worked it out in her head.

"Hm. Thats sounds...interesting" Ichigo mused.

"And super-awesome!" added Yang

Blake "It does seem efficient."

Decided, they rush at the beds, where sounds of jackhammering and sawing are heard until they gather back at the front of the room.

"Objective: Complete!" Announced Ruby.

Yang and Ichigo had their beds still on the ground. Above Yang's bed, suspended by ropes with a blanket creating a canopy. On the other side, Blake's bed was stacked on top of Ichigo's and both glued and nailed down by Ichigo so that he 'doesn't get flattened during the night.'

  
"Allllright! Our second order of business iiiiiiiis...!" Ruby says, jumping up onto her bed, a book in her lap. "Classes..." She pulls out a pencil "Now, we have a few classes together today. At 9, we've got to be-"

Ichigo quickly checks the clock "What?! Did you say 9 o'clock?"

"Uuuum..."

He quickly starts packing his bag. "It's 8:55!"

Ichigo is the first rushing out of the room and down the hall, the members of RBYI and WNNR peeking out from their doorways to look at her go.

"To class!" Ruby runs out, followed by Yang, and Blake.

"Class...?" Weiss says before checking the time realizing her morning speech to her team had gone long.

Weiss disappears from the bottom of the pile causing the other three to lose their balance before she dashes out the door.

"We're gonna be late!"

In the courtyard, Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch watch the two teams hurry through the school. Glynda looks at her watch, and Ozpin simply sips his coffee.

The tip of an axe-blunderbuss weapon points to the boards displaying various species of Grimm - King Taijitu, Death Stalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Nevermore, and Ursa - behind an elderly professor named Peter Port.

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" The professor boisterously continues on with his long winded lecture

The members of RBYI, seated on the front row, are in varying stages of interest; Blake and Yang are sitting up and paying attention, ichigo is taking notes, and Ruby has her head propped in her hand as she takes a quick nap until she is woken back up by Port's bad joke, which receives a cricket-filled silence as a result.

"Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." Port gives Yang a wink, which she shudders uncomfortably at "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..."

His words fade into the background of everyones minds and becomes a series of "blah"s when Weiss, sitting behind Ruby, notices Ruby is very focused on penciling the paper in front of her.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..."

The speech evolves into more "blah"s as Ruby chuckles at her creation and shows it to Weiss: a ball-with-limbs-and-a-head drawing of the teacher with stink lines coming from him and "Professor Poop" written underneath. Ruby blows a quick raspberry. Blake and Yang laugh, Ichigo shakes his head with a small smile, but Weiss looks annoyed.

"Ah-heh-hem!" Port waits until he has their attention again. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

The teacher takes a bow as Weiss slowly gets more and more frustrated with Ruby's antics.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss, still angry, she raises her hand. "I do, sir!"

Port sees her but chooses to ignore her. Instead he points at Ichigo. "You! Come forth! It is time to show what you are made of.

Ichigo takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves before walking up and summoning Zangetsu to his hands. Ruby, Yang, and Blake all cheering him on.

"Allllright!" Port calls out next to the cage, pulling out Blowhard the blunderaxe "Let the match... begin!"

The professor swings down and breaks the lock, dropping the cage door and revealing the Boarbatusk inside, which immediately charges at Ichigo. He rolls to the side, readying himself for its next move. The Grimm stands a distance away from its enemy, studying him.

Port: "Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

The issue quickly became apparent to Ichigo. It's mask was too hard to cut through normally but the classroom was too small and crowded to really go all out and brute force his way through without damaging something or someone.

The Boarbatusk charged again, this time Ichigo sidestepped before attempting to slash down on its horn. The move was a success. The plan was a failure. Instead of cutting off the horn, Zangetsu sank a few inches in before getting stuck. The now flailing beast dragging Ichigo along for the ride.

"Come on, Ichigo, show it who's boss!" Ruby shouted.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" Port teased.

The Boarbatusk began shaking its head. Fed up, Ichigo charged a Getsuga Tenshou before using the energy to finish severing the horn and free himself. The beast however managed to hit Ichigo as he finished cutting through the horn knocking him away, with Zangetsu flying in the other direction.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?"

Ichigo looks up just in time to see the Boarbatusk charge again, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled and make it crash into a desk. He rushes at his sword and slides to get it back in his hand.

Ruby begins to call out to him. "Ichigo! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"

"Look out!" Blake shouted.

Ichigo had turned away when Ruby called out to him and was blindsided by the charging Boarbatusk. The students didn't notice, but Port was now tense, his entire body now coiled muscle ready to pounce if need be. But it was unnecessary as Ichigo had managed to block in time.

With a grunt, Ichigo leans backward, turning his block into a ramp which the Boarbatusk's remaining tusk slides up and past Ichigo. 

The two square up again before this time both charge at each other. At the last second, Ichigo jumps over the Boarbatusk, slashing the nape of its neck as it goes by finally getting a clean kill in the creature, which squeals briefly before dissipating.

_'We need to speak.You have allowed me to grow dull Ichigo. Go to the forest._ ' A voice said in his head.

Meanwhile, Port was congratulating Ichigo for his performance. "Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntsman-in-training! I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Ichigo quietly packed up his things and left the classroom. 

"Come team we have work to do." Weiss commanded the members of Team WNNR. Ren turned towards Weiss "Actually, we made plans to train with RBYI today. Nora wants to fight Yang while I think sparring with Blake would be good for me. I think Pyrrha planned on fighting Ruby as well." 

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said as the NNR of WNNR left with Team RBYI leaving Weiss behind.

Ruby was slow to leave, lost in her thoughts about the fight.

So distracted was she that she walked straight into someone.

Taking the hand offered to help her up, Ruby was shocked and horrified to see she had walked into the back of Professor Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin! I'm so sorry!"

Ozpin just chuckled. "Fret not Miss Rose. It happens far more often than you would think. By now I should know better than to stand in the middle of the hallway."

Ruby blushed a little and scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Now, tell me Miss Rose, what's bothering you?"

"Huh? Bothering me? Nothings bothering me?"

"Come now Miss Rose, I've been doing this a long time. I know when something is wrong with my students."

""Ichigo was fighting a Grimm in Professor Port's class today and when I tried to help him, I just got him hurt...Did you make a mistake making me the leader of my team?"

"Ah. Well now, that remains to be seen.

"What do you mean?"

Ozpin took a long drink from his coffee as he considered his words. "I mean, it's only been one day. Ruby... I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." 

He leans forward so he can look more directly at Ruby over his glasses. "Do you? Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. You have to always be at your best so that you can bring out the best of those you command."

Ozpin turns and begins walking away before stopping to leave Ruby with one last bit of advice. "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time, to think about how you will uphold it. Just remember, it has only been one day. You are here to learn and to grow. If you had already figured everything out, you wouldn't have any use for Beacon."

Ruby considered his words for a while before smiling and running off.

After class Ichigo immediately went to the Emerald Forest. Finding somewhere isolated and quiet, Ichigo followed Zangetsu's instructions, sitting down and closing his eyes in meditation.

Upon opening them, Ichigo found himself in the ruins of a great city. Uncountable skyscrapers were falling apart, crumblind into an encroaching sea below 

Standing atop the ruins of one of the many skyscrapers, Ichigo hears a voice behind him

"Look what has become of you. Once so mighty, now barely holding together."

Ichigo turns to see a tall, lean-built, and stoic middle-aged man wearing glasses standing atop a pole looking over the city.

"Zangetsu..."

"You cling to that name like you understand what it means but your actions show otherwise. All you know is hesitation and fear. I have allowed you to wield me so far and all you have done is dull my edge. Now it is time to see if you are truly worthy of wielding me."

A katana suddenly appeared before Ichigo. Before Ichigo can question what was happening, suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He barely dodges out of the way as Zangetsu, the blade, flies past. 

Following the blade as it retracts, Ichigo sees an all white version of himself swinging Zangetsu by the bandage.

"Shit I missed." The clone said before darting at Ichigo forcing him to block.

A brief sword lock ensues before the clone gets bored and forces Ichigo back several meters.

"Zangetsu what's going on!" Ichigo

"If you wish to use me again you must take me back from him." Zangetsu says.

The clone begins swinging Zangetsu by the bandages again.

"I'd like to see you try!" It shouts before launching Zangetsu.

Ichigo is forced to dodge as the clone laughs maniacally, launching Zangetsu at him over and over again.

"You are unworthy to wield this blade! You think because you only know a name that you suddenly understand? I'll show you just how wrong you are!" The clone says, dashing at Ichigo before grabbing him by the face and dragging him through the ruin of a skyscraper before throwing him into another, causing it to break and crumble.

_"What is there to fear? Cast off your fear!"_ The words rang in Ichigo's head once more.

'He's right. I have been using Zangetsu without understanding him.'

Getting out of the rubble, Ichigo grasped the katana with two hands and faced his doppelganger.

"Oh? Well now that is an interesting look you have in your eye." The clone mocked, swinging Zangetsu once more. "Let's see what the truth behind it is!" It shouted launching the blade once more at Ichigo.

This time, instead of dodging, Ichigo deflected the on coming blade before rapidly closing the distance, moving fast enough to impress even Ruby.

With a spin, the clone pulled Zangetsu back, using the momentum of the spin to meet Ichigo head on with a horizontal slash.

Pushing against the clone with all his might, Ichigo held his ground against the superior weapon.

"Good." The old man said.

Outside, Blake, who had been looking for Ichigo, felt a sudden huge surge of Aura and began running towards its origin.

She came across a clearing with Ichigo meditating, his Aura visible around him like a flame.

Suddenly, Ichigo was holding Zangetsu while the clone held the basic katana. 

Ichigo broke the bladelock, forcing the clone back for the first time, the katana in its hands now cracked.

"It seems you have some fight in you after all." The clone said, lowering its guard. Turning to the old man, the clone says "He better prove to be worthy." Turning back to Ichigo, the clone says "Keep moving forward cause the moment you stop, the moment you hesitate, I will be there to take all this power as my own." And with that, the clone vanished.

Opening, his eyes, Ichigo saw Blake leaning against a tree observing him.

"What was all that?" She asks.

"My semblance has a mind of its own and I needed to remember something I had forgotten so that I could use it better."

Blake didn't have the slightest idea what that meant, but didn't question him on it.

"You want to go hunt some Grimm? Class earlier showed that I've gotten rusty." Ichigo said as he walked deeper into the forest, cracking his neck.

"Sure" She said following him.

Several hours later, the two arrived back at the dorm.

Walking in, Blake grabbed a towel and a change of clothing and headed towards the bathroom. "Ladies first." She said simply as she entered.

"Yeah, yeah just hurry up."

On the other side of the room, Yang was sprawled across her bed snoring. In the upper bunk, a light was on under Ruby's blanket, and a softer snoring could be heard as well. 

Lifting open the blanket-tent, Ichigo finds Ruby asleep on her notes surrounded by books with her pencil still in hand.

Lowering the blanket he leaves the dorm for a while.

Upon coming back, he goes back to Ruby's bed and wakes her.

"Huh? Wha? Oh! Hey Ichigo, I-I was studying, and then I fell asleep! I'm sorry."

"Here." He says handing her a mug of hot chocolate. 

"Thanks." Ruby says, taking a sip. "I'm sorry about earlier, when I distracted you during your fight. I promise to do a better job of leading in the future." She says, staring down into the mug.

"Is that what your worried about?"

Ruby nods

She is thoroughly unprepared for Ichigo to ruffle her hair, letting out a squeak then blushing at the noise she just made.

"Your doing a fine job. I was fighting like an idiot and you gave me the wake up call I needed to stop just trying to brute force my way through. Hurry up and finish your studying. It's getting late and we have class early tomorrow." 

"Shower's all yours." Blake called out as she exited the bathroom.

"Goodnight Captain." Ichigo said as he lowered the blanket back down and went to take a shower and get some sleep.

"Goodnight Ichigo." Ruby said as she finished her notes, and the hot chocolate, before putting her stuff away and falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

It was thursday, which meant is was combat class, which meant Cardin had chosen Ichigo as his opponent again. Initially, Cardin had picked Ichigo as his opponent to beat up on "the clown with orange hair" but a swift defeat became a weekly occurrence of failed attempts to prove some kind of masculine dominance over Ichigo.

This fight was going no different. Not even bothering to summon Zangetsu, Ichigo was still untouched in a stunning display of unarmed combat.

Aura already halved, Cardin steeled himself before charging at Ichigo. 

Putting his all into the swing, Cardin missed and found himself off balance. 

Taking advantage of this, Ichigo kicked Cardin in the knee causing his leg to buckle before hiting him with a round house to the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying.

He struggles to his feet and attempts to get back into his stance when a buzzer rings and the lights come back on in the training room.

"That is enough Mr. Winchester" Glynda says as she walks into the arena, holding a scroll.

Cardin spits onto the ground but relents, panting, as Ichigo walks away.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Winchester's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Cardin is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." She turns to address Cardin "Mr. Winchester, it's been weeks now. Perhaps you would be better suited challanging someone on your own level for a while to polish you skills before sparring with Mr. Kurosaki again."

Glynda then turns her back on the red faced and scowling boy to address the students in the stands once more. "Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora says, excitedly tellimg a story.

"It was day." Ren chimes in.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..." she continues to Yang who was hanging on every word.

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!" She screams this as she on the table of both Team RBYI and WNNR, where Weiss is ignoring Nora and filing her nails, Ruby and Pyrrha are listening politely, and Ichigo is reading.

"Two of 'em."

Nora continues while Ruby and Pyrrha now look at Ichigo, who has put his book down and has gone from his nornal scowl to looking genuinly irritated, with concern. "But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren says, only half paying attention to Nora's story by this point, the hair on the back of his neck tingling at a bit of aura in the air.

"Ichigo are you ok?" Ruby finally asks.

Everyone at the table by this point could feel the small spikes in Ichigo's aura as he visibly looked more and more irritated.  
He didn't seem to hear Ruby at all.

Everyone follows his gaze to find his attention is focused on the members of Team CRDL, standing around a girl with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair as Cardin laughs at her and Sky Lark holds up his hands to his head mocking her.

"Dust what a bunch of assholes." Pyrrha says in a rare moment of annoyance.

"Ooooh!" Nora says as she gets up from the table as she cracks her knuckles while sporting a not-entirely-sane grin."Let's break their legs!"

They all looks over as the laughing grows louder, mixed in with cries of pain from the rabbit girl when one of her ears are tugged on by Cardin.

"Ow! That hurts! Please, stop..." the rabbit girl says.

Cardin is crying with laughterat this point. "I told you it was real!"

"What a freak!" Russel Thrush says, bent over laughing.

Both Team RBYI and WNNR feel a massive spike of aura and turn to Ichigo, only he isn't there anymore.

A loud bang brings everyone's attention back to Team CRDL. Without any warning, Ichigo had appeared in the middle of team CRDL grabbed the back of Cardin's head and slammed it into the table hard. Twisting Cardin's arm, Ichigo growled out "Why don't you assholes pick on someone your own size." He then twisted Cardin's arm further causing the boy to yell.

That snapped the rest of Team CRDL out of their stupor and they charged Ichigo to rescue their captain. 

Before they could reach him, the rest of Team RBYI joined the rumble.

Sky was broadsided by Yang with a ferocious punch that embedded him in the wall, unconscious before he even hit it.

Dove was torpedoed by Ruby in the stomach by her semblance. The boy just folded in on himself and threw up. "Ewwwww gross"

Russel was intercepted by Blake. A kick to his nose staggered him followed up by a kick to the balls (and a collective groan from half of the cafeteria) left him incapacitated on the ground wimpering to himself.

Ichigo lifted Cardin's head up and knelt down. "Don't ever let me catch you bullying someone again." With that, Ichigo let the boy go. 

While he was doing this, Ruby had gone over to the rabbit girl. "Hey, I'm Ruby, if you ever need someone to sit with, your welcome to sit with us."

"I'm Velvet. Thanks. When my team is around things are normally fine but they had some last minute homework to finish."

"Uh guys? We should probably get going before one of the Professors shows up." Blake pointed out.

"Bye" Ruby said as she and the rest of Team RBYI made their escape to their room as Cardin glared holes in their backs rubbing his wrist.

Back in their room:

"Ichigoooo that was soooo cool. You moved so fast and in a minute you had Cardin down!" Ruby said, giddy from the fight still.

"I was surprised when you all jumped in after me to be honest. Not that I don't appreciate the help."

"Psh we got your back. It felt soooo good to ko that asshole. Plus we couldn't let you be the only one looking badass." Yang joked as she nudged Ichigo with her elbow.

"It was pretty heroic." Blake added with the slightest dusting of a blush. "Most people won't stand up for a Faunus."

Ichigo shrugged. "Faunus or human doesn't matter to me. He was being a dick and I couldn't just sit there and watch it happen."

"Well you know what they say...you are what you eat." Yang said with a shit eating grin as Ichigo cracked a smile and Blake chuckled as an utterly confused Ruby looked at her team.

"Uh guys? History starts in four minutes." Blake pointed out starting a mad dash to class.

As they all crash in through the door, Dr. Oobleck takes note of them. "Ah! Team RBYI! You made it just in the nick of time. Please find your seats, class is starting."

With that, Oobleck began zipping around the classroom lecturing at high speeds.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War," He zooms up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk. "humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He points at the map of said-area with his stick, then zooms off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" He once again zooms around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and talk. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

Some of the silhouetted students raise their hands. Velvet, after a moment, does the same.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Weiss raises her hand. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle!"

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

"Mr. Winchester! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Cardin was suddenly beset upon from multiple directions as many took issue with his statement. Two however far outweighed the rest. The anger of Ichigo and Oobleck was palpable from the amount of aura they were leaking.

"You're not the smartest of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha said, de-escalating the situation a bit.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin said trying to put up a brave front despite the fact that he was sweating under the onslaught of aura.

"No, I have the answer! It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark. It's actually impressive you managed to miss that in the reading. It was stated multiple times including in the second line of the summary at the beginning of the reading." Pyrrha said, full of sass. 

Blake decided to join in. "General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

As Cardin gets up from his seat, fist clenched Oobleck Oobleck immediatly shoots him down. "Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat. See me after class for additional homework." The air suddenly grew very heavy as Oobleck really opened the taps. "And if you ever make a comment like that again in my class you will be out of Beacon faster than you could possibly imagine."

Oobleck zooms back to the map. "Now! Moving on!"

Later that night:

Ichigo couldn't sleep. The hazy fog of forgotten memories wouldn't leave him alone. Looking at his alarm, it glowed back defiantly displaying 12:17 A.M. Groaning, grabbed his guitar and went up on the roof of Beacon.

He sat down and closed his eyes and just...let his fingers begin to play notes they remembered but he had long forgotten.

https://youtu.be/yla3g7tM_AY

"That's beautiful. What's it called?" Blake said, leaning against the wall in her pajamas. She had heard him leave and followed him.

"I don't remember." Ichigo said, eyes still closed.

Blake came and sat next to him on the edge of the roof.

"What do you mean?"

"I only remember two maybe three weeks leading up to coming to Beacon. One day I just woke up in the middle of the wastes of Vacuo remembering little more than my name." Ichigo said, eyes now open, staring at the moon.

"Sometimes, I do something and it just feels... familiar. Like it's just out of my grasp but when I reach for it there is nothing there. It's like trying to grab smoke."

"What was it today?" Blake asked.

"Standing up to Cardin... and I think something to do with rabbits? The first one was like this guitar. My body just knew what to do and before I knew it I had slammed him face down on the table. And for some reason, rabbits give me...trepidation for lack of a better word. Like that feeling when you know Yang is about to make a particularily bad joke. I can't really explain it." Ichigo says as he begins quietly playing the guitar again.

"I'm actually glad to hear that." Blake said before realizing how that might be taken. "Uh not that you lost your memories or that you have some kind of weird trama with rabbits." She giggled after saying that. "Just, even without your memories, when you see something wrong, someone suffering, you can't help but act. That means it's so in your nature that you don't need your memories to do what is right."

Ichigo thought on her words, not responding. Blake eventually leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder, listening to him play.

After an hour or so of playing, sleep finally started to over take Ichigo. With a yawn, he turned to Blake only to find her asleep. Putting the guitar on his back, he carried her back to their room, blushing when she subconsciously snuggled into his chest. Putting her in her bed, Ichigo finally found sleep for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

It was time for the first years to take their first field trip. 

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Glynda says as she leads the group deeper into the forest. 

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!" Glynda says before leaving the students to their work.

Team RBYI goes about their work. Nearby, Weiss passes a jar to Nora to hold while she fills up another. 

She is disrupted from her work by a belch. Turning back, the jar she handed Nora is now empty while her face is covered in evidence.

"Nora! If you aren't going to collect the sap at least don't eat what we have gotten and make this whole thing longer!" Weiss says before turning to the sound of snickering a few feet away only to see Team RBYI all have their back away, hiding their smirks.

"Ugh." Weiss groans before getting back to work.

"If you help out, I'll make pancakes and put some of the sap on them." Ren says, not even turning to Nora, already knowing she would take the offer.

"Pancakes!" And with that, Nora is hard at work

  
Suddenly, jar flies over the hilltop off to the left spraying sap all over Team RBYI.

**"MY HAIR!"**

Before anyone could address the flaming Yang, a loud buzzing is heard.

Over the hill comes a swarm of rapier wasps heading straight for Team RBYI.

Bringing out their weapons, the team jumps into action.

Ruby immediatly started barking orders at her team.

"Dragon Slayer!"

Ichigo fires off a Getsuga which Yang then ignites with Ember Celica taking out about a 3rd of the swarm. 

"Bumblebee!"

Ichigo immediatly hits the deck as Blake and Yang open fire taking out another big chunk.

"Enabler! Strawberry!"

Ichigo scowls heavily at this. Ruby runs at Yang, away from the swarm, before they lock arms and Yang takes Ruby's momentum and launches her at Ichigo.

Using Zangetsu's giant blade, Ichigo vaults Ruby into the air where she slices through the remaining wasps with Crescent Rose, landing as the bodies of bugs fall behind her.

Ichigo immediatly turns to Blake. "Did you really have to tell them what my name translates into?"

"I was hoping that by finding the original language your name comes from, it would help you figure out where your from...that your name happens to be Strawberry...well...happy coincidence?" She could barely keep a straight face by the end of that. From what she could tell, his name had two translations and she maaaaay have let it slip that one of them was strawberry.

"Yeah, comeon Berry, it's not so bad." Yang teased. Ichigo stormed away to investigae where the jar came from. Upon getting there, he found Team CRDL frozen in ice, with Nora sitting on Cardin's shoulders, poking at his head.

"Those combos were sooooo cooool! Hey leader, why don't we have cool combo names?"

"Hmph." Turning to Ichigo and the trailing RBY, Weiss chose to address them instead.

"We found who threw the jar." She said matter of factly. 

"They only have three jars" Pyrrha points out before Nora, know knocking on Cardin's frozen head added "Yeah and they have a box that looks like Weiss had a mood all over it." pointing to the box which had a bunch of small holes in it where the wasps had apparently stung through their prison.

Yang cracks her knuckles as she slowly walks up to the frozen boys, her hair covering her face. She looks up showing her unbridled fury, "You. Fucked. With. My. **HAIR! IM GOING TO BEAT YOU TILL CANDY COMES OUT!** " Sky's pants spontaneously got wet.

Before Yang could make good on her threat or somebody could restrain her, a huge Ursa Major with dozens of jagged spikes sticking out from its wide back came running out of the forest, attracted by all the noise. 

It took a swipe at Cardin who closed his eyes in anticipation for the hit.

It never came. He opened his eyes to see Ichigo blocking the strike with Zangetsu, matching the giant creatures strength.

Before it could break the lock, Yang walked up and hit the monster with an absolutely devistating punch between the legs causing its knees to buckle as it let out a whimper. She followed up with a haymaker that sent the monster flying, into a tree which broke on impact killing the grimm.

"I'm going to go fix my hair." Yang said as she began walking back towards Beacon. "It would be a waste to kill them right after Ichigo saved them." and with that, fury personified left.

Nora turned to Weiss. "Can I still break their legs?" 

Weiss couldn't help but smile. "Maybe next time. For now lets leave them for Professor Goodwitch."

"Oh your right, that sounds much worse." Nora said before grabbing Ren by the hand and begins pulling him towards Beacon. "Come on Ren! Pancake time! I was a good girl!"

As they left, Weiss called after them. "Tell Professor Goodwitch what happened so she can come get them. I am not unfreezing them after this one already peed his pants." She said gesturing at Sky.

A couple minutes later, Glynda stormed into the clearing saying nothing. With a swift crack of her riding crop, Team CRDL began to float after her. "If your done with the task, you may return to the school. I have these four to deal with." and with that Glynda left, taking her prisoners with her.

Later that night, back in their dorm, Team RBYI heard a knock on their door.

Ichigo, being the closest, went to answer it. He opened the door to find Velvet and a girl wearing a beret and sunglasses.

"Hi Ichigo, this is Coco, my captain." Velvet said introducing each other.

"May we come in?" Coco asked.

Ichigo looked in the room to make sure it was ok. "Yeah come on in." He said, going back to his desk.

"What can we do for you?" Ruby asked as Coco and Velcet entered.

"I just wanted to thank you guys for looking out for Velvet. If you ever need anything, our team is in 164. Our door is always open to you guys."

Coco began to leave before seeming to remember something.

"Oh I heard that asshole and his team got assigned to community service every weekend for the rest of the year. Got off too lightly if you ask me." She turned towards Yang. "Next time just whoop their ass. You don't just fuck up a girls hair like that and get off so easy." 

With that, Coco left the toom with Velvet trailing. "Bye guys" she waved before closing their door for them.

Team RBYI looked at each other.

"I like her." Yang said."She gets it."


	8. Chapter 8

After classes ended, Team RBYI decided to go into Vale. The Vytal festival started next week and the city was humming with energy as everyone went about making their preparations.

"I can't wait for the tournament!" Ruby exclaimed as they walked through the streets of Vale.

"All the different types of weapons and fighting styles from around the world all in one place. It's going to be sooooo cool!"

"The hardest part about it is going to be figuring out who has to sit when we keep winning." Yang chimed in with a smug look on her face.

"If it comes to that, we could always fight for it." Ichigo interjected.

"Like an extension of the tournament to see who keeps going? I like that idea." Blake said.

"So me and Rubes against you two? I'm suuuuuure you two wanna...pair up." Yang said staring at Blake and Ichigo with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Ichigo and Blake both blushed at the accusation.

"One day your going to wake up and find someone cut all your hair off." Blake said as she sauntered past a horrified Yang.

As they rounded the corner, they came across a crime investigation. The window of a shop had been broken, scattering bits of glass all over the sidewalk and street. The area around it had been sectioned off by yellow police tape.

"Whoa." Ruby approached an officer on the edge of the scene writting something down. "What happened here?"

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The officer says before walking over to his partner.

"That's terrible." Yang says with a sigh.

"They left all the money again." They heard the second officer say.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"

"I don't know, an army?"

"You thinking the White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

"What is the White Fang?" Ichigo asked.

RBY stared at him like he had grown a second head at first before the realization hit Blake.

"Oh. You wouldn't know about them."

Ruby and Yang looked at each other confused.

"The White Fang are a radical group of Faunus seeking equality among humans...althought...recently they have become misguided, resorting to violence to advance the cause." Blake explained.

Just as she finished, they suddenly hear a man shout."Hey, stop that Faunus!"

As the team rushes over to investigate, a Faunus with a golden monkey tail runs down the length of the boat and leaping on to the edge as two sailors are about to apprehend him.

"Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" The Faunus says as he jumps off and hits the dock running.

"You no-good stowaway!" One of the sailors yells after him.

Using his tail to hang on a lamppost while he peels back a banana the Faunus addresses the comment with indignation. "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" He shouts back. before he eats the banana, one of the officers down below throws a stone at him to get his attention

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" The officer demands.

Instead the Faunus drops the banana peel on the officer's face, who growls in return. The monkey-like Faunus twirls up to crouch on the lamppost, laughs in amusement, and proceeds to leap off and run away from the detectives. He stares down Team RBYI and Weiss as he runs past them with a smile.

Turning to look at each other, RBYI finally notices that Weiss has joined them.

"Wha? Weiss? When did you get here?" Ruby asks.

"I came to check out the festival and see who was arriving when I heard someone shouting about some degenerate Faunus and came to investigate. You four just happened to be here already." Weiss said, a bit of conceit and defensiveness flowed with that last statement.

Yang, pointing at the retreating Faunus decided to let it go. "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..."

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss says as she takes off after him followed by Yang and Ruby

While Weiss, Yang, and Ruby give chase, Blake stands still, lost in thought. Ichigo turns towards her, his silent question made clear by a raised eyebrow. Snapping out of it, she begins to run after the other three followed by Ichigo who was now scowling more than usual. They round the next corner, but then Weiss bumps into someone and trips. She looks up only to see Sun jump on to a building and disappear from her view.

"No, he got away!" Weiss cries out.

"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang says as she points strangely at the girl underneath Weiss.

Weiss finally sees that she fell on a smiling girl, which startles the heiress and she hastily gets up.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The smiling girl says, still laying on the ground.

"Um... hello." Ruby replies, waving awkwardly.

"Are you... okay?" Yang adds.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking."

The young huntsmen look at each other in bewilderment before Yang speaks up again. "Do you... wanna get up?"

The girk thinks about this for a moment "Yes!" She leaps back on her feet while everyone else steps back a little "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."

Weiss: "I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Ichigo."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake elbows her. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that." Weiss points out

Penny seems to take a moment to process this. "So I did!"

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss says as her and Team RBYI turn end begin to walk off.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby says, waving goodbye

"She was... weird..." Yang whispers to Blake.

"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss says, interest renewed as she looked for signs of the boy.

Penny suddenly appears in front of a surprised Weiss. "What did you call me?"

As Weiss looks back and forth from where Penny was to where she is now in shock and Yang looks alarmed and then really apologetic. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

"No, not you." Penny says as she effortlessly pushes Yang and Weiss aside. She walks through the group and leans her head down to Ruby. "You!"

"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh...""

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"

"Uuuum..." She looks over Penny's shoulder while Weiss, Yang, and Blakr motion wildly for Ruby to say now while Ichigo just looks amused. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"

Three simultaneous facepalms are heard while Ichigo looks on the verge of laughter at the whole scene.

"Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby leans towards Weiss. "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?"

"No - she seems far more coordinated."

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asks.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament."

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss, once again, looks shocked.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny says with a salute

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss replies dismissively.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake points out with a smirk, getting a snort from both Yang and Ichigo.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss replies defensively.

Ruby stands next to her sister in skirts. "Yeah!" Weiss holds out her hand and Ruby low-fives it

Realization suddenly hits Weiss. "Wait a minute." She walks over to Penny and grabs her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

"The who...?"

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

That was the final straw for Blake. "Why do you keep saying that?!"

Weiss, turning her attention from Penny to Blake eloquently responds "Huh?"

Blake storms over to Weiss, clearly pissed, and gets right in her face. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss releases Penny and motions to objects around her. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

"You ignorant little brat!"

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Weiss says getting closer to Blake until they are almost touching.

"You are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"Uh...Ruby?" Yang said, bringing the girls attention to Ichigo.

Ichigo had now gone from annoyed to pissed, and his Aura was becoming visable, wisps of black and red began to swirl around him.

Penny walks right up to Ichigo. "My you have an incedible amount of Aura!"

This gets Ichigo to calm down a bit, the wisps disappearing, and the glow of his Aura turning from black and red to blue.

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That is the problem!"

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" As they stare each other down in silence, Weiss leans in close, leering as she speaks quietly. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood. You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

A pin could be heard with how silent it was. Even Ichigo's aura retracts completely for a moment. A surprised Weiss backs away slowly, and Blake realizes her mistake as she looks around at her teammates, getting stuck on a shocked Ichigo.

"I... I..." Blake takes off doen the street, befoe jumping up to a roof and disappearing.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby calls, after Blake to no avail.

Suddenly, everyone is blasted by a massive amount of Aura.

Ichigo was surrounded by a malestrom of black and red Aura, the ground underneath him cracking, from the pressure.

Penny's eyes glow green.

"Leave. Now." Ichigo says, his voice sounding far calmer than he looked and far colder than anyone there had heard from him before.

"I..." Weiss begins

Ichigo immediatly interupts her.

"Now!" The word is followed by a pulse of Aura. 

Weiss says nothing and just looks down at her feet.

Ichigo closes his eyes, and the Aura retracts, before he disappears in a small gust of wind.

Turning to Weiss, eyes red, Yang picks the girl up until they are at eye level before slamming her against a wall.

"Until Blake decides to put up with you, do not get anywhere close to us or I will deal with you before Ichigo gets the chance." Yang drops Weiss, letting the girl fall on her ass before she runs off as well.

A small distance away, a frustrated Ichigo has lost any trace of Blake. 

'Ichigo.'

'Huh? Zangetsu?'

'Close your eyes. Feel the residual aura around you. Find the trace and follow it.'

Ichigo closes his eyes and begins to feel the Aura around him. In his mind he sees multiple ribbons appear, many white while some have colors. Finally he sees a ribbon which is dark purple. Grasping it, Ichigo opens his eyes determined.

Blake runs until she arrives at a statue of an armored man with a sword and a hooded woman wielding an axe on an outcropping, staring at the Beowolf under the stone heroes in particular.

She closes her eyes and slowly lifts her arms up to her bow and pulls the string to release the bow from her hair revealing her cat ears. She wipes away a tear away. On the verge of a complete breakdown, she is startled by a voice behind her.

"I like your ears." Ichigo says, walking up to her. 

Blake turns to him, and hugs him. Clutching him desparately.

Weiss arrives back at her dorm where her teammates are going about their business.

In a very small voice, Weiss says "Guys? I need your help. I messed up badly." and she begins to relay to them what happened.

The next morning, She looks over and sees both Blake and Ichigo still gone, and groans sadly.

Elsewhere, Blake is sipping a cup of tea and sighing. She looks up at Ichigo sitting across from her.

"You shared your past with me. It is only right I do the same."

She looks at Ichigo intently, as he stares back silently.

With a heavy sigh, Blake starts her story. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

Ichigo says nothing at first, his face remaining neutral as he takes a moment to comprehend this information. Finally speaking he asks, "Why?"

"You could almost say I was born into it...Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was young, just a child, and naive. Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear."

Blake puts down her teacup with a heavy sigh.

"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.

"Ok."

Blake is taken completely off guard by his response.

"Ok?"

"I have no memory of who I was. I could have been a murderer. All I know is, when I woke up, nobody was lookig for me. Anyone who knee me was glad I was gone or just didn't care. You found a cause you believed in, to help those who needed it most. And when that cause changed, you walked away, never betraying what you believed in." Ichigo said.

Neanwhile, in the streets of Vale, Ruby and Yang were looking for their teammates. 

"Blaaaake!" Ruby called out

"Ichigooooo!" Yelled Yang

"Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?" Ruby continued to screem

"Ichigo!"

"RUBY!"

Ruby nearly jumps out of her skin in shock. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?"

Penny cheerfully ignores the question. "Hey guys! What are you up to?"

"Uhh..."

"We're looking for our friends." Yang replies.

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl and the boy with the interesting Aura!

Ruby and Yang stare at Penny.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Rubh asks

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny says as she points to her head

Yang, laughing a little, "What cat ears? She wears a... boooohhh..."

The realization leaves them in silence.

Ruby whispers to Yang "She does like tuna a lot..."

"So, where are they?" Asks Penny

"We don't know. They've been missing since Friday."

"That's terrible!" Penny says, getting far too close to Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammates!"

"Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, Yang?"

She looks over Penny to direct her question at Yang who...is no longer there.

Across town, Ichigo and Blake are progressing towards the less affluent part of town"So, what's the plan now?" Ichigo asks

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

"I see..." Ichigo says before considering his next words. "Well the only way to know for sure is to find out who is taking the dust."

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

"While we were at the docks, I saw a huge Schnee ship pulling in. I imagine that makes it a big target for a few reasons."

"How huge?"

"Biggest ship on the pier.

"You're sure?"

"The ship and the massive logo weren't exactly subtle."

Yang comes out of a shop, waving to the person inside. "Thanks anyways!" She sighs heavily before turning to Ruby. "This is hopeless." 

"So, Blake is your friend?""

"Yes, Penny." Ruby deadpans back with a sigh.

Penny: "But you're mad at her?"

"No. Not really."

"What does that mean?"

Ruby sighs again "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."

"Is she a man?"

"No! No, Penny. She's..." Ruby stops tops and sighs once more before facing Penny "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off...she looked so scared. And Ichigo ran off after her and never came back either."

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

"Me too..."

Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake lays flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers.

"Did I miss anything?" Ichigo asks as he lays down next to her.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

Just as she says this, the winds blows all around them, and they look up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.

"Oh no..."

"Is that them?"

Blake stares at the bloody wolf on the back of the man's outfit "Yes... It's them."

One of the White Fang members begins giving orders to the other White Fang members coming from the aircraft, motioning with his rifle. "All right, grab the tow cables!"

"I'm sorry. I know you really wanted it to be someone else."

"I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She closes her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" The soldiers look up at Roman gesturing widely and coming down the ramp "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you try to pick up the pace?"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." She stands up and unsheathes the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.

Ichigo jumps off after her.

Blake falls to the ground in a crouch, then continues on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.

"No, you idiot! Like this!" As he's looking around, Blake suddenly appears behind him with her blade at his throat "What the- Oh, for fuck sake..." he says rolling his eyes.

"Nobody move!" Blake orders.

The White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady."

As the White Fang closes in on her, Blake uses her free hand to go for her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears are shown to the world.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.

Roman smirks. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..."

Two more Bullheads are hovering above the heist, and as Blake watches in horror, Roman smiles and manages to fire his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.

Penny and Ruby turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away.

"Oh, no..."

Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying cargo behind her as she flips and uses her semblance to dodge then retreats behind more containers.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." His taunt is interrupted by an energy blast that he narrowly dodges.

Roman turns to Ichigo. "Well, hello there!"

Ichigo jumps down from container above Roman and kicks Roman in the face, rolling up and readying himself to fight.

The Bullheads open to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Roman as he gets up and surrounding Ichigo.

"My my. So brave. And how is that working out for you kid?" Roman says as he twirls his cane by the handle.

The White Fang charge at Ichigo. Pirouetting around the first attack, Ichigo punches the first soldier in the head, taking him out immediatly. The next one over extends his vertical slash and Ichigo sweeps his feet before kicking him in the ribs as he falls, sending the Faunus flying into a crate.

Holding his hand out, Ichigo summons Zangetsu. The remaining White Fang charge Ichigo once more.

A block followed by an elbow to the throat. One down. 

Turning to the next in the circle, Ichigo attacks first, breaking the soldier's guard with a rising slash followed by a spinning horizontal slice ending in a kick to the chest. 

Turning to the three remaining White Fang behind him, he charges up a Getsuga Tenshou, taking out two more. 

Rushing the final soldier Ichigo quickly overpowers him before punching him in the face, dazing the soldier. Grabbing him by the shirt, Ichigo spins him around before throwing him at a retreating Torchwick. The crime boss ducks then growls in annoyance and aims his cane at Ichigo, firing a shot at Ichigo who plants Zangetsu in the ground using the blade as cover. 

Blake comes running out from behind a crate going straight for Torchwick. "He's mine!"

Blake goes in close and becomes a blur of afterimages as she slashes both blades at Roman, who backs away and deflects each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds. Blake continues to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot. Finally landing a blow after using her semblance but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, attempts to punch her in the face. Only to hit a clone as she flips away. The two clash weapons again, then Torchwick jabs her in the side.

"Hahaha!" He laughs, having finally broken Blakes rhythm before he lands a few more hits on Blake until one final beating to the head with his cane causes her to go down.

Just as Roman deals with one opponent, Ichigo appears right behind her. Vaulting over Blake he kicks Roman in the chest and begins firing multiple Getsuga Tenshou at Roman. Each swing results in another energy blast but even with the rapid series of attacks, Roman manages to defend himself against all of them until Blake appears from Roman's blind spot allowing her to get a slash in and knock him onto his back.

On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the two, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Neither Ichigo, due to the amount of Aura he had just fired off, nor Blake, who just isn't fast enough, are able to dodge it.

Just before the crate lands upon them, the two are suddenly surrounded by ice.

"Weiss???" Ichigo and Blake say, dumbfounded as Weiss arrives while the rest of Team WNNR begin to take out the remaining White Fang, which Nora seems to particularly enjoy as she sings while she swings.

"Huh? Weiss?" Ruby says as she arrives with Penny, astonished to find Team WNNR already there.

"Well this feels nostalgic. Just like my childhood. Bump the wall too hard and suddenly all the cockroaches come crawling out." Roman says with a shudder.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asks, pointing at Roman and the White Fang.

"Penny, get back!" While Ruby's attention is diverted, Roman snarls and fires his cane at her, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away. "AAAAAH!"

Roman cackles madly at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" She raises her hand in a futile attempt to stop the ginger.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

Her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiples into several blades hovering over Penny's back. Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.

The rest of the huntsmen take that as their que to back off.

Three Bullheads come from the skies and open fire on the battle, but Penny merely forms a shield and launches two of her swords into the wall behind her, which in turn pull their wielder back with their strings. When her swords swirl around her again, she commands them to open their points and build up a large glowing ball of green light. With a punching action, several bright lasers crack the pavement when they fire at the transports and slice each one in half, causing several of the White Fang members inside to fall and letting Ruby watch as Bullheads fall in pieces behind her.

Stunned, she turns back to Penny as she aims her swords at the remaining Bullheads holding the crate of Dust and pulls back on their wires, holding the aircraft in place. Seeing the girl struggle, Pyrrha holds out her hand and begins to glow grey before grasping at the air pulling down. The Bullhead mimics this motion and begins to float towards Penny

"Whoa...?" Ruby says in awe

Seeing the Bullhead's ill fated flight, Roman grimaces and turns to run towards the last transport.

Penny, after her large green pupils dilate for a second, pulls with all her might on the strings, and the aircraft crashes into a stack of crates, causing an explosion as a result.

Roman watches this from the safety of his escape. "These kids just keep getting weirder..." He says shaking his head before closing the door as the transport lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.

Weiss runs up to Blake, her team not far away.

"Weiss? Why are you here? How did you even know we were here?" Blake asks.

"I've been looking for you ever since you ran off. I wanted to apologize. I know what I said was out of line. Will you forgive me."

Blake looks to the crate still suspended by ice. "You saved me. Let's call it even." Blake says before bumping fists with the Schnee.

A few feet away, Ichigo is leaning against a crate smiling at the exchange.

"Whew. Thank goodness. You have nooooo idea how worried she was and how long we looked for you." Nora blurts out before getting elbowed by Pyrrha as Ren face palms and Weiss blushes causing Blake to chuckle before she is suddenly glomped by a red blur.

"I was so worried when you never came back." She disappears and then glomps a very surprises Ichigo who awkwardly pats her on the head.

"You too. Penny and I were about to give up when we saw the smoke."

Ruby looks around but notices someone is gone. "Hey, wait a minute... Where's Penny?"

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the city, Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A female voice calls out from behind him, as the telltale sound of heels clicking slowly approaches from the darkness.

Roman turns around suddenly when he hears the voice and the noisy entrance. "Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..."

Three figures begin approaching. The same voice as before speaks again  
"We were expecting... more from you."

Roman laughs a little before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those imbeciles from the White Fang."

"And you will continue to do so." She summons a fireball in her hand and steps out of the darkness revealing a woman with long dark hair and glowing eyes in a dress flanked by her two companions, a grey haired man and mint-haired, tanned woman. "We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation."


End file.
